THREE teenagers whose quick thinking helped prevent a tragedy have been honoured by Cheshire Fire Service.

One evening last June, 15-year-olds Craig Osbourne, Joseph Briscoe and Christopher Beattie were sitting on a park bench taking a breather from a game of football when they noticed smoke coming from a house on nearby Park Road, Ellesmere Port.

The fire service says the male occupier had fallen asleep upstairs, having left a chip pan unattended on the cooker. No smoke alarms were fitted.

While his two friends rang 999 and alerted the brigade, Joey forced the front door and was faced with a wall of thick black smoke.

Without hesitation he ran upstairs, located the sleeping man, roused him and led him downstairs, where friends helped lead them both to safety.

At a recent ceremony all three lads received a commendation from Cheshire's fire chief Steve McGuirk for their 'significant contribution to the survival of people in extreme danger'.

A fire service spokesman said: 'While the fire service was in attendance at the incident within three minutes, undoubtedly Joey's actions prevented what could have been a tragedy.'